Beautiful Baylie's Birthday Bash

Our beautiful Baylie had her 9th birthday on Sunday. It seems like we just brought her home.

She is such an amazing girl. She has always been sweet-natured and eager to please. She is kind to others, even if they are unkind to her. She is truly a special gift and I am so grateful to be her mother. Each year at this time, I think of her birth mom and wonder if she remembers what day it is.

This year Baylie didn't get to have a party, but she got to invite a couple of friends for a special activity. She chose to go to Frankie's Fun Park (same place Jalen chose). We picked up her best friends Isabella and Lydia after school on Friday and we headed over.

A lot of the outdoor features were closed, but they loved the go cart track. 

Lydia won a stuffed animal with the claw game.

Isabella hit the jackpot with 1,000 tickets. I kept telling the girls not to waste their money on these kinds of games, but both girls won big so that should teach me to just let them do what they want. Baylie didn't win, but I told her she should be getting presents and she was okay with that.

After Frankie's, we went to Publix and I let each girl and Jalen choose the cupcake they wanted. They were really excited about this. (And it was easy for me!)

Isabella gave Baylie a book with flowers she can make. Lydia gave her a Leggo set, but best of all, Lydia made her a little scrapbook with pictures she drew herself. It was so sweet. I'm so glad Baylie has such good friends. These girls were in kindergarten and first grade together. Lydia and Baylie were in second grade together and now Baylie and Isabella are in third grade together.

Lydia's book.

Eating pizza!

Eating cupcakes!

With Jalen. 

Nine candles on one cupcake. Lydia and Isabella also wanted to blow out a candle.

It was a really fun time and Lydia said it was the "best birthday party ever."

Baylie's actual birthday was on Sunday. I hadn't originally planned on making her a cake since we had the cupcakes, but it just didn't seem right to not have a cake on her birthday. So Saturday night I made her a heart-shaped one. I topped it off with the Leggo set she had built that Lydia gave her.

Her favorite present was the movie Moana.

She blew out candles again. It was a good thing because she forgot to make a wish on Friday.

It's hard to believe she's already nine years old. I've tried to absorb every moment, but the time is still going by too fast. I sure love this sweet girl.

Happenings

Each year the third grade holds a South Carolina History Fair where they celebrate South Carolina history and traditions. This year the moms went over the top with a fantastic activity. Their stations included lighthouse at Hilton Head, face painting, the Shag (SC dance), Carolina Wren, yellow jasmine, peach cobbler, grits, the Darlington Raceway and SC trivia. I was substitute teaching in 5th grade so I didn't get to go, but David did. Thankfully I also had sweet friends who took pictures for me.

Carolina Wren station (eating gummy worms).

Darlington Raceway station

David taught them how to do the shag.

I don't have pictures of the other stations, but they had a lot of fun.

This year Baylie is also old enough to participate in Run Hard, a great local program that teaches fitness along with positive character traits. The participants prepare to run a 5K.

Baylie with one of her best friends, Isabella. They have been in the same class three of the past four years.

In other news, we used some of our tax return money to get the kids passports. We don't know where we're going, but at least now it's an option!

It's Always Fun When Gigi Comes

I have loved David's grandmother - Gigi - from the first time I met her. She has always made me feel welcome and loved. She has always been attentive of me, David and our kids - never missing a birthday or a special occasion. When we lived in Texas, I loved going to her house for Thanksgiving and tasting her southern cooking. She is my epitome of a "Southern Belle," so beautiful and gracious.   

I didn't realize how much time had passed since we last saw her until my kids started asking what she looked like. She came to visit us back in 2011. The kids were just 1 and 3 years old. She also came to visit us in Utah and we visited her in Texas, but the kids were so young they don't remember it. 

We were all so excited to have her come visit us this week. On Tuesday, she and David came to eat lunch with the kids at school and afterwards David checked the kids out early to go to Edventure Children's Museum. I was substitute teaching Baylie's class so I had to stay at school! 

Thursday we kept the kids home from school and went to the zoo. We have the best zoo.

The birds were HUNGRY!

So were the giraffes.

And so were the goats.

The koala was cute.

Baylie took a rest on the train...

while everyone else enjoyed the ride  

Ostriches.

Cardinal.

Some people were more excited than others. It was freezing!

With Gigi at the elephant habitat.

Meerkats on watch.

Chinchilla.

Gorilla feeding time.

Kangaroos in the sun.

I love the snakes. These are some of my favorites.

I also love the tree frogs. They look like toys.

Hermit crab.

Lionfish.

The sea turtle is so fun to watch. I could seriously watch him for hours..

This turtle is made of garbage.

The otters were putting on a show. They even teased the gorillas who are in the neighboring exhibit, but I didn't get a picture of that.

Baylie and Jalen attempted the rock wall, but didn't get far. Their hands were too cold.

Racing back to the tram.

Flowers in the botanical garden.

"Just my size!"

After the zoo, we went to Blaze Pizza. So delicious! You get to build your own pizza for one prize and then they cook it in a wood burning oven. It was so much like the pizzas in Italy.

They also had really cool soda and lemonade flavors. Baylie had sausage and pineapple while Jalen had pepperoni.

My pizza (ham and salami with artichokes and spinach).

Gigi had a veggie pizza.

David had a pesto sauce with Italian meatballs and olives. (His had great flavor, but I couldn't have handled more than one piece of it.)

We were sorry to have her go home today. The visit was too short. We definitely won't let so much time go by before the next one.